Today 939 runners braved the rain for the Marlow Half Marathon. It was also windy as well as being very wet. To begin with, like others I tried to avoid the puddles and the mini streams and tried to avoid splashing other people. But this was a waste of time as later our shoes got soaked as in several places the road was awash with 2 inch deep "lakes" to run through.

The organisers say the race has a "challenging and undulating scenic route over quiet country lanes through the Chiltern Hills". Meaning that the first 2K is all uphill, and that there are four other uphills at 3K, 5K, 13K and 17.5K. Of course every uphill has a downhill, and as usual I didn't know whether to take these gently or to gain a few seconds by charging down them.

The race was well marshalled and marshalled with enthusiasm which was nice given they had to stand around for about 4 hours in the rain. Several of them said "well done Headington" which I liked. There were several water stations also being cheerfully and efficiently manned, often by kids. But unlike some races they knew what to do. And probably because it was often pouring with rain I said more thank yous to these people and to the marshals than usual.

Chips were used and there was a large plasma screen at the end giving the names and times of the last 30 or so people to cross the line.